And.....another creek fish.

[KYCanvasback]

Cool pic, got me wanting to take off work some this week.
Great information, appreciate the tips. I mostly fish a very small creek where a deep pool may be 5-6 ft., due mainly to convenience of being raised along the banks. My best fishing year after year is always in Jan - March. Seems like by mid April i cant buy a fish, i fairly often have follows or raise fish but they just wont eat it with the regularity they do earlier in the year. I know that seems just opposite of what i read. For me, winter months typically = less follows but more bites. Do you notice a difference in winter fish vs. this time of year in willingness to eat? Do the fish you catch stay in the creek year round or move back down stream after spawning to bigger water during the summer months? I will add, most of the fish i catch hit large spinner baits and are not in the same size class as what your catching, a 40" is a brute for me. Sorry for so many questions but i am intrigued by your success. Thanks again

 

[Riflelooney]

5-6ft is a pretty average depth for what I'm fishing as well. Idk what creek you're on but im probably familiar with it at least a little bit.

Jan- March is a solid time time of year to fish. But I really like this time of year, mid fall, and dead of winter.

What I notice about winter time fish, is they are more likely to eat yes. I still raise a lot of fish in the winter, but they are usually pretty easy to get jazzed up beside the boat and turn that follow into a strike. Not always but often enough. As the summer wears on yes it gets a little harder to catch fish. With July and August probably being the worse time to go. It's all weather related, a summer rain or a mild cool down can really fire them right back up.


For the most part I think the fish stay. A couple places I fish I think fish move in and out of holes, but I wouldn't say that all do it. I think some are resident fish that never leave.


I fish bucktails a lot, and have decent success with them but I strongly recommend tossing some rubber (bulldawgs, Medusa's. Whale Tails) and gliders (hellhounds, phantoms, deadheads etc)

These baits really seem to move big fish. Nothing wrong with smaller cranks and blades. They have their place and I've caught many fish on them, but day in day our rubber and gliders put more fish in the net for me than the others when it comes to the creek.

 

[Riflelooney]

One thing I will add. I'm fishing stand alone streams. The creeks I fish flow into the Ohio river and that's it. They don't feed any other system. So if you're fishing a small creek that feeds a larger creek or river, it's entirely possible the reason you have success in the pre spawn is because the fish are moving up and out of the main system to prepare to spawn and by mid April the spawn is usually in full swing (no one can buy a fish at this time lol) then they are moving back out once they are finished. That's entirely plausible. The streams I'm fishing; they can't do that.

 

[KYCanvasback]

Makes perfect sense, i mostly fish a stream that feeds South Fork KY, (Goose ck.) so i have always thought they moved out as summer progresses. I am sure there are some that stick around in deeper pockets but in summer you can literally step across some shoals without getting your feet wet. Thanks again for taking time to offer suggestions, they are duly noted and i hope to put em to the test soon. Keep the pics coming.

 

[Riflelooney]

Makes perfect sense, i mostly fish a stream that feeds South Fork KY, (Goose ck.) so i have always thought they moved out as summer progresses. I am sure there are some that stick around in deeper pockets but in summer you can literally step across some shoals without getting your feet wet. Thanks again for taking time to offer suggestions, they are duly noted and i hope to put em to the test soon. Keep the pics coming.

I have fished goose creek, along with the red bird river, and the south fork at Oneida. There's an actual ramp on goose if I remember correctly. Lynn Frazier park or something sound about right ? It's about 3 hours from me, but i have fished it.


Goose would hold fish year round. As would the red bird, but I'm sure they navigate in and out as they wish.


If it's that shallow then yea, you gotta find some deeper water man.

If you're ever around Ashland, give me a shout if you ever wanna hit it.

 

[KYCanvasback]

RL, thanks for the kind offer and may take you up on it someday.
That’s wild you have fished goose creek. You must really pursue them to have fished there when you catch fish like you catch locally. There are couple ramps on goose. May have been Rawlings Stinson park, also there was a tournament in memory of Lynn may be what your thinking of.

 

[Riflelooney]

It could be; it's been a few years since I've been down that way.

 

[Junglekat]

Dam a musky,dont have a chance around you congrats

 

[Riflelooney]

Dam a musky,dont have a chance around you congrats

I wish; there's plenty that escape unscathed lol.